


Lost in Otherwhere

by ban_sidhe



Category: Loki of Mythology
Genre: F/M, Gen, Norse and Celtic mythology, faerie - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-05 05:21:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 16,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15163553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ban_sidhe/pseuds/ban_sidhe
Summary: Banished to Faerie as punishment for being too charming and attractive, Loki finds a way home.  He plays matchmaker in the process.





	1. Chapter 1

**Lost in Otherwhere**

                                                                                    (or Down the Rabbithole)

[URL=http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/36622d29-6f75-47be-8174-642a044e3fa1_zpsac3263e5.png.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/36622d29-6f75-47be-8174-642a044e3fa1_zpsac3263e5.png[/IMG][/URL]  

Travelers:

Alicia, (Ah-LEE-see-ah), a young noblewoman from the South   delicate, blonde, blue eyes

Sir Carney, her guardian - big, brawny, bear-like, much faster and nimbler than he looks, dark chestnut hair, blue eyes, squarish face and jaw, a Northerner

the Fey: 

Queen Maeve, sovereign of all the fey

the black elf, Maeve’s champion

Puck/Loki, the imp, troublemaker   
  


                                                                                               ###

The blonde young woman pulled her travel cloak closer about her shoulders.  The evening was growing damp and chill. Typical for weather in these northern hills, even in summer.  Her escort were all dressed more warmly than she. [i] _ It would have been nice if someone had warned me[/i], _ she thought, ungraciously.

[URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/9a7f4a4c-9174-4d53-a562-1823486d2ebe_zps456cd407.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/9a7f4a4c-9174-4d53-a562-1823486d2ebe_zps456cd407.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Noticing the young noblewoman’s shiver, her personal guard moved closer.  Slipping off his own cloak, he tucked it around her. She made a soft sound, almost a moan of relief.  The material was still warm from his body and immediately, she felt better. 

“Thank you, Sir Carney.  That’s so much better. But won’t you be cold?”

“No, my Lady.  I was raised in these parts and am used to this weather.”  The knight frowned, “Someone should have prepared you better.”  

Alicia laughed softly.  “That’s just what I was thinking.  Are you a mind reader, Sir Carney?”

He did not answer aloud, only shaking his head, but Alicia did not miss the small quirk of his lips.  She smiled to herself, as well. It wasn’t easy to coax a smile from her guard; he was always so serious.  [i]  _ Not that I blame him.  If I had to walk around all day encased in steel, I’d be a bit cranky too.[/i] _

[URL=http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/3fe4612e-fe15-4d60-ba3b-a71f5e8fa875_zps89ead4d8.gif.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/3fe4612e-fe15-4d60-ba3b-a71f5e8fa875_zps89ead4d8.gif[/IMG][/URL]

The small party continued along the winding path of the sluggish stream, avoiding the quagmires and fenny areas.  They were heading straight for the highlands, Alicia’s new home once she was wed. She still wasn’t sure how pleased she would be, but she could always winter in London if she hated the cold too much.

Sighing, she leaned over her horse’s withers to ask, “Might we stop and rest for a few minutes, Sir Carney?  I cannot feel my legs anymore. Perhaps a warm drink for everyone?” The knight was riding between Alicia and the brook so when he turned, she caught a glimpse of the dark water.

Carney was just answering Alicia, hoping to delay her for a little while longer.  He saw her startled face and turned himself to see what had surprised her. Looking across the meadow showed him nothing untoward.  Just more thick forest, clouds and the first of the ramparts they would need to cross.

Alicia gasped and pointed at the water.  “Look at the reflection!” Everyone did so, then automatically their heads turned to the tor ahead of them.  Wreathed in cloud and fog, the crest was invisible. Still, the castle on the mount was reflected clearly in the shallow river’s inky depths.  

The knight’s reaction caused her to gasp once more.  Carney grabbed the girl’s reins and kicked his mount into an immediate canter, exhorting the rest to “Run!”  Though he did not raise his voice, the command was clear and the troop obeyed.

Alicia grabbed her horse’s mane and hung on, bent low over its neck to lessen the sting of the wind on her face.  She didn’t understand, but she knew the knight had to have a good reason. He was a careful, practical man and very good at his job.

Somewhere in their mad rush to pass the ghostly fortress’ lands, they got separated from the rest of the guards.  Now, slowing finally, it was just the two of them. Carney’s face reflected his dismay and unease. They had passed through several thick patches of fog and lost several men each time.  And all the pack animals, too. But he knew it would be fatal to stop and search for them.

“Where are the guard, Sir Carney?” Alicia quavered when they had slowed to a walk.  The horses had to rest, blowing in the cold air, and steam rising from their heated flanks.  She was looking over her shoulder at the empty road.

He shook his head, unhappy,.  “I don’t know, my Lady. Lost.”  He looked at her, uncomfortable and scowling.  “We cannot search for them. We must pass these lands and quickly.  It is not safe here.”

He shook his head again when Alicia wanted to protest.  “Ssh. Sounds travel well here. We must not draw attention to ourselves.”  He frowned over at her. “The results would not be pleasant. We can only hope the others will catch us along the way.”

She did not question him, knowing the area’s reputation was not good.  These were wild lands, occupied by thieves and bandits. Desperate men who would not hesitate to kill in order to take whatever they might from travelers.  And now, alone, the knight would be hard pressed to defend her if they were attacked. 

Alicia noted the road they had been traveling, while still paved, was not as well-maintained as at the beginning of their journey.  There were occasional missing stones and most of it was overgrown with moss. Carney no longer rode ahead of her, but rather kept her close by his side.  The path narrowed more until there was barely room to ride that way.

[URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/851b8d57-79d4-49bf-885a-1d089fed1c60_zps8bcf0687.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/851b8d57-79d4-49bf-885a-1d089fed1c60_zps8bcf0687.jpg[/IMG][/URL ]  [URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/2ba0f6f2-5c99-42fb-9e99-d1ed33f6ec74_zps6c21bba5.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/2ba0f6f2-5c99-42fb-9e99-d1ed33f6ec74_zps6c21bba5.jpg[/IMG][/URL ]

The tall trees grew closer until they began to overshadow the road.  Alicia shuddered; not only was it colder here, but she felt like she was being watched and the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood up.  When the path finally vanished into the gloom, she whispered to her protector, “Sir Carney? Are we really going in there?”

He nodded, leaning toward her to murmur very quietly.  “Unfortunately, it is the only way, my Lady. And do not stray from the path.  No matter what you think you see or hear. Stay very close to me.”

Alicia looked up at him, realised he was completely serious and she swallowed in fear.  They rode under the trees and the sound of the horses’ hooves became muffled. She glanced down and saw the thick mossy covering that had caused the change.  They rode in silence for a time, going slower and more cautiously now. It was rather black in the shade of the thick forest.

The young woman got so used to the near silence, with only the quiet thump of the horses’ feet and the faint jingle of harness, that the sudden alteration in the sound of their tread startled her.  She’d been riding with her eyes on her horse’s ears, not paying attention to the trail. Dozing, half asleep in the saddle. 

[URL=http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/11a3a08c-4e5f-4483-b7c3-ff9f277ac729_zps10fe556e.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/11a3a08c-4e5f-4483-b7c3-ff9f277ac729_zps10fe556e.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

The sudden noisy clop of shod hooves on stone snapped her awake of an instant.  Looking ahead, Alicia saw a narrow paved path that meandered through the towering dark forest.  There didn’t seem to be any end to it. The narrow track was much cleaner here, better maintained than the road up to this point.  But that didn't seem to please her companion. Carney looked even more tense than usual. 

She turned to him and he frowned, shaking his head no silently.  So no questions for now. She sighed and faced front again. 

Alicia began to hear what she thought were whispers now and again, to one side of the path or the other.  When she turned to look, there was never any sign of someone there. But several times, she thought she’d caught movement out of the corner of her eye.  

That went on for a time, then stopped again.  Now, though, there seemed to be a faint, flickering light off to the side and in front of them.  And it was coming closer, bobbing and swaying as would a lantern being carried by someone running.  

Alicia was certain she heard a voice now.  Muttering and complaining quietly, in almost a chant, a singsong cadence affecting her ability to make out the words.  Whomever it was, was quite upset.

“Late again, late again!  How do I get in these situations?  You are a fool, my man. One day, you will linger too long and that bitch will have your head.  Have to hurry now before she sets her hounds loose. That would never do.” 

The voice stopped and the light ceased moving in the same instant.  “Well, well. What have we here?” whispered out of the shadows. All she could see were two glowing green eyes. 

Before Alicia could even open her mouth, her knight had pushed forward and drawn his broadsword.  “Come forth and be known. You with the light. Show yourself!” The flickering glow immediately went out.


	2. Chapter 2

                                                                                       ****** 2

Carney spun his horse in a circle, peering into the dark.  “That won’t help you, sir knight,” came the quiet, deep chuckle.  Carney came back to Alicia’s side still frowning and searching the dark.  He stopped suddenly with a quick inhale. Sitting beside the trail on the stump of a downed trunk was a very unusual person.

“Oooh, now he’s a pretty one, eh?  Is he tamed, milady?” The smallish, slender person asked Alicia.   She smiled down at where he crouched before her, then up at her doughty warrior.  

“Well, partially, I suppose.”  She almost laughed at Sir Carney’s scowl.  “He can be fairly fierce where my safety is concerned.”  This weird little man didn’t seem frightening at all to her.  His voice was surprisingly deep, though.

Taking a closer look at the odd man, she stopped smiling.  He would be no taller than she when standing upright. Except for his too wise eyes, he could have been a child.  His wild, red-blonde hair stood out around his face in curving spikes and his eyes were too green.

_Almost like a cat’s,_ she thought, then her own widened.  He did have slit pupils, exactly like a cat.  They had at first appeared normal until he looked at her and directly into the light from the knight’s lamp.  Both travelers had dismounted to speak with the stranger. 

[URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/1d3b8861-0b4e-4e68-bd45-ba4282ca2c7d_zpse8f71136.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/1d3b8861-0b4e-4e68-bd45-ba4282ca2c7d_zpse8f71136.jpg[/IMG][/URL  ] [URL=  http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/7c04ed11-aa42-4b6b-a69d-28c53a2c7332_zpsc2715807.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/7c04ed11-aa42-4b6b-a69d-28c53a2c7332_zpsc2715807.jpg[/IMG][/URL ] 

“Who **are**  you?”  She questioned, a bit taken aback by his strange appearance.  He was dressed in forester’s colours, a patchwork of black stripes and greens.   _Probably how he got so close before we noticed him._  

There were silver rings in his ears and he wore a small charm on a beaded chain around his neck.  He didn’t seem dangerous. At least he hadn’t moved since she had stepped out from behind her knight’s broad back, ignoring the big man’s growl, to question the stranger.  

The pixie-like person stood and looked down to one side.  Shrugging, he looked back at Alicia from between dark lashes.  Grinning suddenly, he chuckled, “Ah, what’s in a name, milady? I’ve had so many over the years.  You may call me anything that suits your fancy.”

Surprising them both, the normally silent knight spoke.  “You’re fey. Puck or some other woodsprite by my guess.”  

“What?” Alicia squeaked, shocked.  

At the same time, the slender, lithe creature turned and bowed formally to Sir Carney.  “Correct, sir knight. And might I have the pleasure of knowing yours and the lady’s names?”  

Sir Carney narrowed his eyes, but introduced Alicia and himself.  He didn’t trust this being as far as he could toss it. If he could even lay hands upon the creature.  It looked fast and agile.

“I am Sir Carney of Roxbury Cross.  This is the the Lady Alicia Windsor.  We are on our way to the home of her betrothed, Lord Niall Moncrieffe.”  

“Sir Carney?”  Alicia lay a gloved hand on the knight’s arm.  “You think he’s a... a fairy?” It was the very last thing she would have expected from the dour man.  

“I am **not**!” Puck protested.  

Sir Carney smiled, fiercely, as was his wont.  “Nothing so benign, my lady. Not if he really is the creature I named.”

“But, but... fairies aren’t real.  They’re only from bedtime stories for children!”

“Do I look like a story to you, Lady Alicia?” Puck stood with hands on his narrow hips.  His eyes had momentarily flashed a brighter green as he denied her naming him ‘fairy’. “Here.  Touch me if you don’t think I’m real.” He held out an arm, but backed up quickly when Sir Carney growled again.  

“I mean her no harm, sir knight.  But she does not believe and that pains me.”  Now he held his hand over his heart with a sad expression.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you are real.  I can see and hear that you are. But... what did you call him, Sir Carney?”  Alicia look up at the knight.

Both he and the smaller man answered her at the same time.  “Fey, my Lady.”

“What’s the difference?”  She frowned, confused.

Carney looked over at Puck.  “Shall I defer to your greater knowledge... Puck?”

“I would be honoured, Sir Carney,” the fey creature bowed again.  Giving a quick glance up to where the moon was on the rise, he sighed.  “This may take a little while. Why don’t you sit and be comfortable, Lady Alicia?”

“I’m not so sure that would be wise, milady.”  Carney grumbled. “We should continue on out of these woods as swiftly as we may.  Yon sprite may accompany us to the end of his territory if he wishes. He can explain as we go.”

Alicia sighed; she was so tired and the thought of a few moments’ rest was enticing.  Her back ached and her buttocks were numb from so many hours in the saddle. Her toes she could no longer feel and her hands were cramped from holding the reins.  She was cold and growing thirsty and hungry, too. But one look at Carney’s face gave her her answer before she even asked. He would not allow it.

So she only looked back at this Puck creature and smiled sadly.  “Would you be willing, sirrah? I am curious to know more about you and your kin.”

“Not my kin, Lady Alicia.  But not yours, either,” the imp replied quixotically.  “I will come along for a time. Educating mortals is always amusing, and you are most pleasant to look upon.”  He glanced up at Sir Carney’s frown. “Never fear, sir knight. I will not touch your lady.” Looking away, he mumbled under his breath, “Not unless she asks.

                                                                                 


	3. Chapter 3

                                                                                      ###3

They continued down the forest road, Puck now walking at Alicia’s stirrup.  Sir Carney rode directly behind him, slightly offset from Alicia’s horse. It would enable him to move more quickly to her side if she required him for any reason.  Or ride the fey down if he became a threat. 

Puck chatted as they went along.  He explained the difference between the greater and lesser fey and named several of the branches of their family trees.  He was himself, one of the family of hearth spirits as humans called the fey of his current incarnation. 

“This incarnation?” Alicia asked for clarification.  Head drooping, Puck sighed. 

“Banished from home until my king gets over his snit.  Sent here to pay for my folly.” He sighed again. “They have no sense of humour at all back there.  As bad as these folks. And so jealous.” 

“So that’s why you were running?”  Carney chimed in. He had been carefully examining the fey as they walked.  “You’re in trouble again?” The knight had taken note of the odd sigil carved into the strange little man’s necklace.  He recognised it as a symbol often used by the Viking immigrants that lived far to the north.

Alicia gave him a strange look.  He almost smiled back at her, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.  Gesturing toward the man at her foot, he clarified, “This one is known for his pranks and tricks, milady.  What have you done now... Loki?” Alicia wondered at Carney’s change of name for the creature. And the slight man did not protest it.

“No, no.  No tricks.  I’m just late for a meeting is all.  Supposed to be keeping her stuck-up highness informed of what conspires amongst her courtiers.  She will not be pleased with me.”

He stared straight into Carney’s eyes.  “You need to come with me. The moon is full tonight.  When it reaches the zenith...”

Carney’s eyes went wide and Alicia would have sworn he paled.  “The Hunt?” He whispered. 

Loki made a face and nodded.  “I have a good place. I can keep you safe.  But we should hurry.”

“Why would you assist us?”  The knight sounded very suspicious.  

Loki only grinned and his eyes flashed again.  “Because it will frustrate Maeve. Deny her Huntsman his quarry.  I’m curious about you and your Lady. She reminds me of someone back home.”

Unhappy about it, Sir Carney grudgingly agreed to follow Loki.  If the trickster was correct, they didn’t have much time. The full moon, and it was a hunter’s moon he just remembered, would reach its zenith in only an hour or so.  

Loki trotted along the trail for a few minutes, then veered off to the left onto a much narrower, fainter path.  

“Lefthand path, Loki?”  Carney grumbled. The other only shrugged; he was not prey to the same superstitions as humans.  The knight scowled and sighed. Alicia glanced at him, but decided to wait until they stopped to ask why it concerned him.  The knight wasn’t the most strictly religious man she knew, but that could have been his reference.

[URL=http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/b41b81f8-104b-4e83-bc38-ff8e781a1fed_zps237638dc.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/b41b81f8-104b-4e83-bc38-ff8e781a1fed_zps237638dc.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

The path was no longer paved, the horses’ hooves going nearly silent now on the leaf littered winding way.  And the wood was growing misty once again. Unexpectedly, it opened up and brightened enough for Alicia to see just ahead a short stand-alone tower of pale stone.  

Crenellated on top, it appeared open on each of the four cardinal sides.  Wide open arches gave clear views of the forest beyond each one. Except as she rode closer, she could see that each opening led to a different wood.  One was in bright, morning sun, another looked snowy, the third similar to the mixed forest they'd been riding through and the last she could not recognise with odd, twisted trees draped with mosses, vines and lichens.  

[URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/ea7c8cf1-f7f6-4bb6-b0e8-c813006bc554_zps976ad8f6.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/ea7c8cf1-f7f6-4bb6-b0e8-c813006bc554_zps976ad8f6.jpg[/IMG][/URL ]

Sir Carney stopped his horse quickly.  The animal was not pleased by the yank on his reins and protested, throwing up his head with a snort and shaking the lines.  He pawed the ground, his harness creaking and jingling. 

Loki turned back and placed a hand on the beast’s muzzle.  “Ssh, ssh, my friend. Must be quiet here. Don’t want to wake the wardens.”  The black stallion immediately stopped fidgeting.

The knight scowled down on the fey.  “You expect us to follow through yon gate?”  His hand crept to his sword hilt, though he had not drawn it yet.  Alicia recognised his posture as anger as well as distress.

Loki simply shrugged.  “Not exactly. We take a different route.  Come, if you wish to keep her safe.” He slipped past Carney and to Alicia’s side.  Offering her a hand, he smiled. “We all walk from here, my Lady.”

Not sure at first, the longer Alicia stared into those too green cat eyes, the calmer she felt.  She smiled down and reached toward Loki. Sir Carney was overreacting, she was certain of it. 

Until she heard him sharply call her name.  “Alicia! My Lady!” She looked up with a little shiver.  “Do not stare into his eyes. He can enchant you that way.”

“Spoilsport!”  Loki grumbled. “I only wanted her calm and unafraid.  Now she’ll be as nervous as you. And nervous humans do not smell pleasantly.”  He stepped back and allowed the knight to lift her down. 

Alicia glanced at Loki, unable to hide a small smile, though she bit her lip hard trying.  She had to cover her mouth and turn away when he grinned and winked at her. He was teasing her knight.  She was curious, though. How did Carney know that?

On the ground for the first time in hours, Alicia groaned softly.  She put her hands on the small of her back and stretched, trying to ease the stiffness.  Loki’s eyes sparkled and he grinned again. “I could ease that for you, milady.” When she turned to him, he held out his hands and she inhaled sharply.  They were glowing faintly green.

“You will not touch her!”  Carney snapped. He pulled Alicia back from the slender fey, a bit more roughly than his usual handling of her.  

Loki sighed.  “She’s in pain.  A little heat and a rub would help.  I don’t suppose you’d care to do the honors?  We still have a ways to go and we don’t want her falling, now do we?”  He stepped closer to the knight. “Here, let me show you.” 

Carney drew back with a growl and a hand to his sword.  The fey made a face and shook his head. “So untrusting.  Well, come on then.” He turned away and walked toward the nearest tower arch.  

“What about the horses?”  Alicia asked, patting her grey and looking at the big destrier.  

“Leave them.  I have friends who will care for them,”  Loki answered over his shoulder. Taking a deep breath, Alicia wrapped her cloak tighter and followed with Sir Carney on her heels.  

The instant they had both feet inside the tower, their surroundings changed completely.  Everything [i] _ rippled _ [/i].  It was disorienting and Alicia would have stumbled if Sir Carney had not held her arm.  

Now they stood at the top of a deep well, a stair winding down around the outer wall.  Alicia leaned over the edge of the waist high inner wall to see multiple arches spiraling down into darkness.  Something glittered at the very bottom. Much of the stone was mossy and vines draped down the sides giving the faint breath of the well a green, earthy scent.

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“We’re going down?” she quavered, unsure.  

“Yes, milady.  All the way. You are sure you are able to make it?”  Loki sounded sincerely concerned. 

“If she wearies, I shall carry her,”  Sir Carney growled. “You...”

“Yes, yes, I know.  I don’t touch her.” Loki sighed, disgusted.  “I don’t have the plague, you know.” He gave the knight a bitter, resentful look.  Then he just headed down the curving stair. 

It grew darker the further down they went, the narrow throat of the well causing shadows to fall on the walls rather quickly.  Alicia stumbled once, her guard and Loki both reaching to catch her. Carney growled at the fey, “If you want to be useful, how about a little light?”

He stood a step above the young woman, his hands on her shoulders.  Alicia could feel the buckles on the front of his armour against her back.  She blushed, for even though the knight was completely covered in steel plate and mail, with padding beneath, those buckles were covering the part of him that made him a man.

Loki smiled at her discomfiture and a dark brow lifted in amusement.  He lifted one hand, and with a snap of his fingers, a ball of bright greenish-yellow witchlight appeared in his cupped hand.  He held it at shoulder height and continued to descend. The woman looked up at her knight, stunned and even more surprised that he seemed to accept the casual working of magic so calmly.  

Alicia and Carney were both startled when they reached the bottom.  As she had looked over the side on the way down, it appeared as though the very floor was either water or brightly polished stone.  Now that they had arrived, it was leaf littered dirt and half covered in tangled vines. Loki pulled open a green gate with a screech of unused hinges and stepped out into a wood filled with golden light.  

[URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/3985c600-816e-4d39-b97e-fb0076d15adb_zps288c3126.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/3985c600-816e-4d39-b97e-fb0076d15adb_zps288c3126.jpg[/IMG][/URL ] [URL=http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/55f6b216-644c-41a2-87e9-6ff64f05f235_zps4dcd5e5b.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/55f6b216-644c-41a2-87e9-6ff64f05f235_zps4dcd5e5b.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

“Oh, my God!”  Alicia cried in amazement, wide eyed.  Even Carney seemed stunned, silently staring at the panorama they now faced.  For where they stood was on the side of a large forested mount facing several buttes with a wide valley between.  Misty waterfalls roared in the near distance, flocks of white birds soared through unfamiliar trees, and their path meandered down the hillside before them.

Loki chuckled, “Oh, He had very little to do with this, my Lady.  This is a much older place. My home away from home, if you will.”  His words made little sense to the young woman, but she was too tired at the moment to wonder.  How could anything be older than God? Perhaps later she would ask her knight. He seemed to know more about this odd person and his ilk than she.

Alicia glanced over at the slender man to see a satisfied smile on his face.  And she blinked, seeing the sun shining on him. It was bright, if misty midday here.  The sudden realization staggered her and she wobbled on her feet. 

Loki caught her, an arm around her waist.  “Sit for a moment, my Lady. The view does tend to take one’s breath the first time.”  He lowered her gently and quickly stepped back as Sir Carney turned, a thunderous look on his face.  

Alicia raised her face to her guardian.  “I’m fine, Sir Carney. Just disoriented for a moment.  Loki has not hurt me.”

The fey backed into the shade of the gate, hands raised.  “I told you I wouldn’t. I  **like**  her.  You need to relax.  I am not your enemy here.”  He scowled too, as the knight continued to frown.  “I did just save your lives, you know. If you’d remained back there, the Hunt would have claimed you for certain.”

“Hmmph,” Carney snorted.  “If you’d taken a different path, they probably would have never even known we were there.”  

“Oh, they knew.  The minute you stepped onto Maeve’s lands, they knew.”

“When was that, Loki?”  Alicia wanted to know.

He gave her a disbelieving glance.  “Why, when you saw her castle’s reflection, of course.”  He turned back to Carney. “Did you know she has the Sight?”

The knight only shook his head.  “She’s from the South. How could I know?”  

“Ah.  I understand.  Still, there’s some wild blood in her somewhere.”  Loki stared speculatively at the seated girl.

“Wild blood?”  Alicia gasped. “What does he mean?”  She looked up at Carney, having paled.  Her blood was not tainted as far as she was aware.


	4. Chapter 4

                                                                                      ### 4

Her father was a Lord, his familial lands right on the coast near the channel to the mainland.  His family had all lived there for generations.  Her mother’s people were city folk, blue bloods and related to the royals.  Not landed like her father, they were still important, all involved in governing the realm.  Not a drop of common blood among them, let alone ‘wild’.

The knight frowned, trying to find a delicate way of putting it to the sweet soul he’d come to admire during their weeks of travel.  Alicia was a lady in every sense; gentle, kind, loving and yet stronger than most people would see.  Still, he had no desire to upset her.  

Loki solved the problem for him by just blurting it out.  “One of your ancestors fucked a fey, my sweet.”  Then he shrugged, “Or got fucked by one, more likely.”

Alicia blushed fiercely as his meaning penetrated.  Her eyes and mouth went round together.  The thought that one of her female relatives had most likely been raped by one of the elder race was... unsettling.  Especially as she was finding it difficult to even believe they really existed, the evidence in front of her or no. 

She looked down, plucking a leaf or two and thinking.  Were there any rumours of strange talents in the family?  Any women that married quickly or had questions raised about a child?  Not that she remembered immediately. 

Loki came closer and crouched down before her.  “Any of your relatives sickly?  Couldn’t take the city air?  Needed to recuperate in the country or by the sea?”  He cocked his head to the side, “No females got the ‘vapours’ if overexcited?”  He made little quotation marks with his fingers. 

Alicia  frowned, a little puzzled seeming wrinkle appearing between her golden brows.  “I did have a great uncle who was unwell most of his life.  I only met him once.  On a vacation to the family summer home.”  She looked up at Carney.  “It’s near Dover, on the coast.”  

Loki shook his head, “Unlikely.  Anyone exceptionally lucky?”  He leaned in closer and whispered, “Or considered insane?”

Sir Carney growled and the fey looked up.  “Well, it could mean fey blood,” he snapped.  “Many of our abilities are seen as ‘sicknesses’ of the mind by humans.  Especially in mixed bloods raised amongst your kind.  They’re not trained properly; don’t understand what they can do.”

“It matters not at the moment,” the knight waved the questions away.  “Milady is weary and needs rest and refreshment.  Do you know of some common or even a rough place where we may take refuge?”

“Oh, I can do better than that,” Loki smiled.  “If you can follow for a little longer?”

“We can,” Sir Carney answered shortly for both of them.  Loki nodded and stood, backing away to let the knight lift Alicia to her feet.  No point in irritating him further.  He led them down the hill and into the misty woods.  

Their path twisted and wound up and down, becoming rocky steps that sometimes appeared carved and sometimes natural stone.  In and out of patches of sun, then back into the mists.  The greenery grew dense and exotic to Alicia’s eyes.  Once they clambered along the side of a cliff, with only a wooden rail to protect the climbers from the drop.

[URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/c01ba82b-5ad5-4541-a6b1-7170002c97de_zpseb32a866.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/c01ba82b-5ad5-4541-a6b1-7170002c97de_zpseb32a866.jpg[/IMG][/URL ] [URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/e81e20da-2efd-4327-a98b-ce0a85b18354_zps9466d7de.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/e81e20da-2efd-4327-a98b-ce0a85b18354_zps9466d7de.jpg[/IMG][/URL ] [URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/9445ea01-af55-4b91-9fec-e1da1fa25014_zpsdd3fbd24.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/9445ea01-af55-4b91-9fec-e1da1fa25014_zpsdd3fbd24.jpg[/IMG][/URL ] [URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/519da30a-a9cb-4016-9644-4433bdb606d2_zps0be43945.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/519da30a-a9cb-4016-9644-4433bdb606d2_zps0be43945.jpg[/IMG][/URL ]

Several times along the way, Alicia needed her knight’s arm to help her up the steps.  As many times as she had wished to walk throughout much of her journey, she now wanted her horse back.  She knew the animals were not good with stairs, but her legs throbbed leadenly and she was growing short of breath.  

Loki seemed to note it, for he looked at Sir Carney and tucked his chin, lifted his brows and cocked his head toward her.  A silent reminder to the big man that he said he would carry Alicia if necessary.  The fey thought that time had come.  Alicia was too tired to protest when her knight turned and scooped her into his arms.  And Loki?  He never seemed to tire at all.

Finally, the exhausted girl thought she could glimpse white buildings through the haze.  Climbing up the steep hill, interspersed with heavy timber and draped with greenery, it was hard to be sure.  One more turn and the stair became a covered walk. 

A filigreed rail now edged the open sided hall and carved columns held up the roof.  They walked toward a delicate, white walled aerie atop greyish ramparts.  Sir Carney lowered Alicia to her feet and all three paused to look at the elegant structure.  “It’s beautiful,” Alicia murmured.  “Doesn’t look real.”

[URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Otherwhere/29f66fb7-eb6b-4fa6-ab1a-9a1d2901ad27_zpsa819e773.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Otherwhere/29f66fb7-eb6b-4fa6-ab1a-9a1d2901ad27_zpsa819e773.jpg[/IMG][/URL ]

“I assure you, it is, milady,” Loki preened.  “Come, let’s get you both settled, fed and rested.”  He led them into the structure. 

A curved gate wall and small courtyard framed the entrance.  Planted with flowering shrubs and small fruit trees, there were espaliered roses climbing the wall to each side of the main door.  Which stood wide open, a warm, welcoming light spilling out from the hall. 

Loki led them through the ornately decorated main hall, past a long steeply spiralled staircase, into another, smaller, cooler, blue room with a huge organ.  Again, they passed right through and also the formal dining room with its statuary, sideboards, columns and decorative arrases lining the walls. 

Down a less ornate, darker hall, they finally entered the castle’s kitchen.  A smaller, warmer, much friendlier seeming room, there were serving dishes set out on the work table.  Even a baked fish on one platter, as if someone had been in the middle of preparing a meal and vanished with the coming of the lord of the manor and his guests.

_ All the castle pictures are from Colleen Moore’s fairytale castle.. a real dollhouse on display in a Chicago museum.  Many of the furnishings are real antiques and it took 7 years to build. To learn more follow this link:  [ http://www.msichicago.org/whats-here/exhibits/fairycastle/history-of-the-fairy-castle/ ](http://www.msichicago.org/whats-here/exhibits/fairycastle/history-of-the-fairy-castle/) _

[URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Otherwhere/cec28e13-5f1a-4513-bacc-441b037328de_zps305168f8.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Otherwhere/cec28e13-5f1a-4513-bacc-441b037328de_zps305168f8.jpg[/IMG][/URL ]  [URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Otherwhere/spiralstair2_zpsd5ab0ce1.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Otherwhere/spiralstair2_zpsd5ab0ce1.jpg[/IMG][/URL ] [URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Otherwhere/7b9495ed-19aa-49b7-9d2c-11005be47533_zpsf90cde1a.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Otherwhere/7b9495ed-19aa-49b7-9d2c-11005be47533_zpsf90cde1a.jpg[/IMG][/URL ] [URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Otherwhere/eb6097d6-aa5e-4fae-a501-5542f22beaec_zpsfa15b92b.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Otherwhere/eb6097d6-aa5e-4fae-a501-5542f22beaec_zpsfa15b92b.jpg[/IMG][/URL ] [URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Otherwhere/e3dc9755-fb52-4038-b6da-6ca5dfe2556a_zps40bd59fe.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Otherwhere/e3dc9755-fb52-4038-b6da-6ca5dfe2556a_zps40bd59fe.jpg[/IMG][/URL ]


	5. Chapter 5

                                                                                      ### 5

“Do you live here alone, Loki?”  Alicia asked, curiously, as she craned her neck to try and see into every corner.  

Chuckling, he replied, “Oh, no.  Of course not.  This place is far too complex for one person alone to maintain.  I’m ashamed to say my servants are a wee bit shy of strangers, however.  They tend to hide from anyone but me.  While you are very fair to my eyes, milady, they would find you more than passing strange.  In fact, I do not know if any of them have ever seen a mortal before now.”

Pulling out a chair, he bowed and waved her to a seat.  “I thought you would not mind if we ate here.  It’s warmer and... well, frankly, friendlier than the dining room.”  He turned to Carney, “Sir knight?”  He motioned to a second chair. 

While Carney settled Alicia and himself after removing his gauntlets and the heavy leather gloves beneath, Loki busied himself rustling up something for them all to eat.  Alicia followed his movements around the room, wondering as foodstuffs seemed to magically appear in his hands or on plates that he held.  And several times she could have sworn she heard him murmur thanks to some invisible helper.

She shook her head, smiling at Carney’s frown and beginning to feel like she was in a strange dream.  Loki came to the table several times, setting out bread and rolls, cheeses, butter and honey.  Found them silverware and cups.  “Just a moment, I’ll be right back,” he chirped as he vanished through a narrow door. 

Carney growled, but before the knight could rise and see where he’d gone, he was back.  He carried a dusty bottle and a covered tankard.  “Wasn’t sure if you’d prefer wine or ale, so I brought both,” he said.  Setting the tankard in front of Carney, Loki wiped off the bottle on his shirttail, popped the cork and poured himself and Alicia a glass of a sweet, honey-coloured wine.  

“If that is not acceptable, milady, I have cider, water or milk?”  Loki seemed an anxious to please host.  “I can toast the bread and cheese if you prefer, as well?”

“Thank you, Loki.  This will be just fine,”  Alicia sighed.  “I could eat just about anything right now and this all looks and smells delicious.”  Both men passed platters to the lady for her to choose what she wished first, then helped themselves. 

After a curious and slightly suspicious sniff, Carney sampled the ale and proclaimed it drinkable.  Alicia laughed, putting a hand on Loki’s arm and leaned close to loudly whisper, “You should be gratified.  That’s about as close to a compliment as he gets.”  She bit her lip to stifle a smile and tried not to giggle.

Loki grinned back and snickered.  “I shall take the compliment from whence it comes then, milady.  I do appreciate the warning.  Would you care for a second glass?”  Loki lifted the bottle of golden wine.  Alicia nodded consent and he poured for both of them a second time.  

By the time the meal was ended, they had finished the bottle and Sir Carney had drained several tankards.  Both humans were feeling quite giddy, not only from the alcohol, but also because it had been consumed at the end of a long, strange day and they were very tired.  When the young woman began to yawn as often as she laughed, Loki decided it was time to send her to rest. 

Sir Carney wanted to carry her up that spiral stair, but his host convinced him he was going to have enough trouble just getting himself up it.  What with his armour and all making him slightly clumsy.  The knight protested, but Alicia insisted she would be fine with an arm.  And sashayed over to her host to lean on him.  Carney looked daggers at Loki, who lifted his free hand and his eyebrows in innocence.  So he led her up with the knight following. 

“Ooh,” Alicia sighed, when led into the room she was to occupy for the night.  Pale peach walls decorated with painted scrollwork, a pink and pale blue mosaic floor, beautiful stained glass windows and a canopied sleigh bed were featured.  A harp sat near one window and a tea service sat on a small ivory table with two blue chairs across from the bed. Several small songbirds twittered in a white cage hung from a hook on the wall.

“I hope you will be comfortable here, milady,” Loki bowed her into the airy suite.  "There is a dressing room through the far door.  Anything you might require, just use the bellpull.  I wish you pleasant dreams.”  He turned away to face Carney.  “And now for you, Sir knight.  Right this way,”  Loki waved down the hall.

The room he led the knight to was very blue, floor, walls and ceiling.  His room had a large, round, filigreed window in the painted ceiling and a small balcony looking over an inner courtyard.  A huge white bearskin spread over the center of the floor, with a low chest at the foot of the wide bed and a chair stood beside it.  The warm pink light from the sunset shone through the ceiling making the room seem not so cold.

[URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Otherwhere/9bf3687d-b604-403d-a081-cb7caf0f7895_zps7d4021dd.png.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Otherwhere/9bf3687d-b604-403d-a081-cb7caf0f7895_zps7d4021dd.png[/IMG][/URL ]  [URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Otherwhere/bb09e481-f35e-430b-83c2-ed0f92b42d3b_zps79db6886.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Otherwhere/bb09e481-f35e-430b-83c2-ed0f92b42d3b_zps79db6886.jpg[/IMG][/URL ]

Sir Carney gruffly thanked the fey and Loki left him to undress and relax by himself.  Come morning, the knight would hopefully have lost some of his suspiciousness and Loki could discover more about his guests.  If Alicia was who he thought she might be, Queen Maeve would do almost anything to get her hands on the sweet child. 

Which meant he had to make a choice.  Continue to protect the humans and find some way to sneak them past her guardians, or see that the lady was delivered safely into the queen’s hands.  Neither prospect particularly appealed to him. 

On the one hand, if he rescued the girl he risked the queen’s wrath and she could be vicious if thwarted.  On the other, if he turned Alicia over to Maeve, his king would not be pleased.  The elder god’s fondness for humans was well known to Loki.  He might just leave him here forever.

Frustrated, the god turned fey did what soothed him most.  He flitted down the servant’s stair to the castle’s lowest floor and made his way to his workroom.  Fiddling with potions and philters, conjuring and designing new spells always calmed him, helped him think.  Hopefully, he would discover a solution to his little problem that would make everyone happy.  Or at least keep them off his neck.  And his head where it belonged.

[URL=http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Otherwhere/2f65d26c-b8c6-47e2-949d-3f7f5bdf7a8f_zps964750db.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Otherwhere/2f65d26c-b8c6-47e2-949d-3f7f5bdf7a8f_zps964750db.jpg[/IMG][/URL]


	6. Chapter 6

                                                                                      ### 6

Maeve strode back and forth on the lawn before her throne.  She was annoyed and impatient.  Her Hunt master had not yet returned and the night was growing old.  Puck was missing, too.  He was long overdue to report. 

Her courtiers watched, cringing as she moved closer to each one, sighing silently and relaxing as she moved further away.  The dark faerie queen was never so beautiful as when she was angry... and never so dangerous.  Unpredictable, she might lash out at any one of them as fancy struck, or not, as her mood changed. 

And she was growing angrier; thunder rolled through the night and lightning flashed in the distance.  A servant, a brownie, crept close carefully, slinking up behind the throne.   She quietly replaced the fireflies in the lanterns with fresh, taking the tired insects back to be fed and rested.  Maeve hissed at the brighter glow and the poor brownie scuttled away as quickly as she could. 

[URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/542c6ebb-4b5c-4cf6-8e7a-45ae174f5c6a_zps6761d65c.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/542c6ebb-4b5c-4cf6-8e7a-45ae174f5c6a_zps6761d65c.jpg[/IMG][/URL ]

Things did not bode well for anyone approaching with unhappy news.  

Heads at the edge of the court began to turn at the faint sound of horns and hooves on pavement.  The Hunt was returning at last.  Maeve stopped pacing, leaning against a huge bole and waited for her champion.

[URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/b8bf720c-cb92-4c35-9c2d-8f7ad4c36719_zpse6ee4576.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/b8bf720c-cb92-4c35-9c2d-8f7ad4c36719_zpse6ee4576.jpg[/IMG][/URL ]  [URL=http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/aced6b1f-ea71-4ffa-9507-2a5133729d9c_zpsbfa6dc01.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/aced6b1f-ea71-4ffa-9507-2a5133729d9c_zpsbfa6dc01.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

The black elf came striding up the walk, one hand tightly gripping his sword hilt, never a good sign.  The whispers and murmurs among the beautiful company died away to a pregnant silence.  He bowed to his Queen, still hooded and gloved, so he had come quickly up the walk from outside the castle.   The Hunt never entered the court; they had their own lodging nearby in the darker wood. 

[URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/480b92b2-597f-499d-9157-677b3817a726_zps5aa102f4.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/480b92b2-597f-499d-9157-677b3817a726_zps5aa102f4.jpg[/IMG][/URL ]  [URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/6a558829-c130-404e-9904-c55440f72780_zpsf27cd23b.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/6a558829-c130-404e-9904-c55440f72780_zpsf27cd23b.jpg[/IMG][/URL ]

“What news?”  The flame-haired fey whispered, her emerald eyes flashing.  

“Nothing you will be pleased to hear, my Queen,” he answered.  His speech was a cracked, harsh growl, deep and rough, as though he had spent many hours screaming and it had broken his voice.  He had.

It had also made him nearly immune to the fear her pique caused in the others.  So when she turned to face him and hissed her rage, he merely blinked rather than cowering back and hiding his face like the rest.  The master of the Hunt feared very little anymore. 

“The lady and her knight are still missing.  They left the trail and took a lefthand path.  With someone on foot leading them, I believe.  They might be anywhere by now.”  The black elf continued quietly.

“Why did you not pursue them further?”  Maeve slunk closer, glaring fire at her knight.  “Have you missed the pleasures of my dungeons so soon?”  

He straightened, but did not back off.  “Dawn approaches, my Queen.  The Hunt must not be caught out when the sun rises.  We know where they headed.  We shall continue our search tomorrow night.” 

“You’d best bring them to me soon, my sweet.  I do miss... playing with you.”  Maeve ran one hand up the elf’s armoured chest and slipped it around his neck inside his hood.       Her face was close enough to his to kiss, but she only smiled into his eyes.  Now he did look afraid, paling slightly and a shudder ran through him.  


	7. Chapter 7

                                                                                       ### 7

Dawn was fast approaching by the time Loki took to his bed.  He would catch a short nap before rising to face the humans with some delicate questions.  He knew it would go much easier if he could separate Alicia from her watchdog, but that he could not think of a way to accomplish just yet.  So he would hold them here under the pretense of keeping the lady safe while he continued to ponder his own dilemma.

Sir Carney rose with the coming of the first light.  Used to rising early, he found much of his morning ritual already done.  His clothes had been cleaned and even mended, including his small clothes.  His armour was polished and laid out ready for him.

He faced the dawn from his smaller window and sighed.  Normally, he would pray at this time before breaking his fast, but it somehow seemed out of place here.  Bowing his head, he crossed himself with a quick wish for his soul’s safety and decided to make up for his lack later.  

So he dressed, though he wore only his arming doublet and breeches with a surcoat thrown over the top.  His armour was noisy and hopefully not needed here inside.  He tiptoed down the hall and checked on his charge, but she was still sleeping.   _The poor child is no doubt exhausted,_ Carney thought after quickly peeking into Alicia’s room.  He would go and search out breakfast before attempting to wake her.  And try to find their odd host.

For on this day the knight was somewhat anxious.  Carney was doing his best to remember all the old tales and warnings about dealing with the fey.  He knew they were in Loki’s debt already and did not want to add any more to it.  God only knew, ( _no, I should say ‘gods’, in his case),_ what the fey would demand as payment.  For Carney had heard what his host had only vaguely mentioned.  He was not truly fey, but something else and the knight was unsure if the same rules applied.

It had taken several hours for them to reach Loki’s retreat and half a day before that to make the distance from where Alicia had seen the castle in the water.  He was sure there was some rule about a day in Faerie being much longer than in the human world.  They needed to be on their way back soon.  This was a very dangerous place for mortals and Carney had no wish to become trapped in this strange, if beautiful world.  

The knight remembered the fey did not outright lie, though they could twist words.  One had to listen closely and be alert for hidden meanings and omissions in what they did say.  Their host was known for his ability to twist truth to mean whatever he wished; Carney suddenly remembered a nickname for him: Silvertongue.  He decided the best way to learn what he only partially remembered would be to simply ask.

Perhaps this Loki could tell him, since if he were not truly of this world, he might not be constrained by its rules.  He only hoped the fey creature that was also a Norse god would speak truthfully in this guise, for he was known for just the opposite in myth.  The knight had also gleaned a sense of unease from the strange little man, as if he also wanted away from here and thought the humans could help him gain fulfillment of that desire.  Carney had no objection to that if it meant keeping Alicia safe.

Wandering through the halls and rooms of the fairy palace, Sir Carney caught quick glimpses of the castle’s other inhabitants from the corner of his eye occasionally.  If he hadn’t been sure he was awake, he might have thought himself dreaming.  None looked very human and they were small, at most knee high on the tall knight.

They all had long noses and large, pointed, floppy ears, save the one he thought was female.  She’d wisped out of the kitchen as he poked his head in, carrying her broom from where she’d been sweeping the hearth.  And she was the only one not dressed, (barely), in rags.  What they were called he could not remember; house elves? brownies? hobs?  For all he knew, they might not even be all the same ilk.   

[URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/housebrownie2_zpsec523b4e.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/housebrownie2_zpsec523b4e.jpg[/IMG][/URL  ]  [URL=  http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/714f015d-3e52-4b84-a7bb-5bc277f24b40_zps564ee9ed.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/714f015d-3e52-4b84-a7bb-5bc277f24b40_zps564ee9ed.jpg[/IMG][/URL  ]  [URL=  http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/7b2e812d-9002-4bf9-a2f3-e981f1ed1fbc_zps08542c2e.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/7b2e812d-9002-4bf9-a2f3-e981f1ed1fbc_zps08542c2e.jpg[/IMG][/URL ]

Sighing, he asked the air softly, “Could someone please find your master?  And perhaps something to feed this poor mortal?  I am thirsty and famished.  I will wait outside, in the courtyard.  I wish you no harm, little ones.”  He bowed, even though he saw no one.  The knight was certain he was being watched.

Loki found him there shortly thereafter, patiently waiting.  “Good morning, sir knight.  I trust you slept well?”  Loki grinned at him from the balcony over the main door.  “Breakfast awaits us in the dining hall.  If you would care to head in that direction, I shall meet you inside.”  

Carney glanced up and rose, nodding his agreement and silently repaired to where his host was sitting.  Loki bowed him to a seat, a veritable feast spread before them.  “You will not be displeased if I ask you to help yourself, I hope?”  The table had been set for three.

Breads, rolls, sweet buns, pastries and oatcakes with various spreads were laid out on trays.  Fruit compotes in silver bowls stood interspersed amongst the rest, with silver spoons for serving standing in them.  Cheeses already sliced on platters shared space with several different types of baked fish and steaming, covered dishes held porridges of oat or barley.   Another platter held sausages, thick slabs of bacon and eggs.  There were flagons of ale, bottles of sweet wine, and crystal pitchers of cider, water and milk, as well.  

Carney stared at all the food, trying to decide on choices.  He shook his head and huffed in surprise.  “I am surprised you are so... svelte, Loki.  With a feast like this every day, I should look like a fatted calf before very long.  Tis quite early for so heavy a meal for me.”

The fey/god laughed, greatly amused.  “I don’t have guests very often and I had no idea of your normal diet, nor the lady’s, Sir Carney.  So I simply had my staff prepare a bit of everything.”  He was carrying a plate and making his own choices as he spoke, walking the length of the table opposite where the knight stood.  

Carney noted his host did choose to eat lightly.  He had only a single slice of a dark loaf, a slice of smoked salmon and a scoop of yellow apples preserved with spices and wine when he took his seat.  He poured himself a glass of cider and then waited for the knight to finish his selection.

Being a much bigger man, the knight did take more, but tried to restrain himself from sampling more than he could comfortably eat.  It was not easy; everything looked and smelled delicious.  A lot of the food displayed was considered a delicacy at home and he had seen but never tasted such.  With a sigh, he took a flagon of ale with him and thanking his host once more, sat near him.

Loki adjured him to take one of the stewed fruits, honey, cream or butter to add to his porridge, laughing when he stated he was used to it plain.  “You are not on the road or on campaign now, Sir Carney.  I am certain you will not go straight to whatever Hell you believe in for enjoying your breakfast one time.”  

The knight grimaced, but he did add a bit of pears stewed in sweet brandy to his bowl.  Washing down the bite with a sip of ale, he looked up at Loki.  The fey was watching him as if he anticipated Carney asking questions.  A dark brow lifted and all Loki’s attention focused on the knight.

“You said something yesterday about this... place... not being your true home?”  Loki nodded, silently waiting for the rest.

“Does that mean you do not have to follow strictly the laws governing the rest of... of Faerie?”  Carney wasn’t positive yet, but he was fairly sure that was where he and Lady Alicia had been led.

The knight was not pleased by his host’s reaction.  Loki grinned from ear to ear and then laughed aloud.  “Oh, you are a fit guardian for the lady, Sir Carney.  A very wise man, indeed.  You may even be correct.  I have not truly tested the boundaries of what I am allowed here and what is forbidden.”  He shrugged, “Never had reason to before yesterday.”

“So does that mean we will not be trapped here forever if we fail to leave before this eventide?”  

“Frankly, I don’t know,” Loki shrugged again.  “You do realise a day here is more than the same back in the mortal world?”

Carney nearly choked on his bite of sausage, having to swallow quickly, cough and take a drink to clear his throat.  Loki sat quietly watching and solicitously asked if he was alright once he was breathing regularly again.  The knight gasped a few times and when his colour paled back to normal, he growled out, “How long?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry yet.  Not long.  No more than a few weeks,”  Loki airily threw out.  He was savouring his apple compote and smiled, humming as he took another bite.

“Weeks!”  They both turned at the shocked squeak from the doorway.  Lady Alicia stood there, looking stunned.  One hand on the doorframe, the other at her throat, she was the colour of milk with all the cream skimmed off.  

Both males leapt to their feet to assist her.  Loki being closer and faster, reached her first.  “Come, milady.  Sit and refresh yourself.  Perhaps a bit of tea?  Something sweet?”  He led her carefully by a hand to where Carney stood, looking unhappy.  

“See, sir knight?  I wish her no harm,”  the fey snipped slightly as he handed the young woman to her guardian, backing away and allowing Carney to seat her.  Carney only shot him a disapproving glance and poured her a glass of iced water.  While she sipped, regaining her equilibrium, Loki brought dishes and the lady made her choices.  

“Are you feeling better, my dear?” he asked after a few minutes and Alicia’s sampling a couple bites of this and that.  “Your colour is better now.  Perhaps you were only faint from hunger.”

“I... am... not ... sure,” she said, slowly.  “You shocked me.  Did you truly mean weeks?”

Loki glanced at Carney before he answered.  The knight raised his brows, but also gave a little nod.  The fey dropped his head and sighed.  “Possibly, my lady.  Probably.”  Lifting his eyes to her distraught face, he sighed again, “Almost certainly, I’m afraid.”  

Alicia closed her eyes and stifled a sob.  She looked down at her hands twisting her gown in her lap.  When her head came back up, her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

“Oh, Sir Carney!  I have missed my own wedding!  Lord Moncrieffe will be so distressed!  Will he even accept me now, do you think?”  She gasped, “And what of you, sir knight? He will be so...”  she shook her head, unable to think of a word to express the thain’s rage at his best paladin’s failure.  

Both Loki and Carney spoke at the same time.  Carney taking Alicia's hand and patting it while he assured her he would survive the encounter with his lord.  Loki blurted, “You were on your way to be wed?  To Niall Moncrieffe?  No wonder Maeve sent her Hunt out after you!”

The girl and the knight both turned to stare at their host.  Alicia simply seemed confused, but Carney was angry.  “You knew!” he accused Loki, rising from his seat.  

His hand went to his waist, forgetting his weapons were still upstairs.  He looked down at the table for something sharp.  And realised of a sudden that all the cutlery was silver or pewter, no iron or steel in sight.  He frowned, wondering how his armour had gotten moved and cleaned.  If the fey could not truly tolerate the touch of iron...

Loki seemed to understand his confusion.  “I cleaned it myself.  After you fell asleep.”  He clarified for the knight.  “My servants cannot touch it.  You’ve just now remembered that.”

“So, you are _not_  one of them,”  Carney nodded. “You truly are Loki, from the Norse realms.”

Loki tucked his head slightly, chin tipped to one side.  An acknowledgement of sorts.  He smiled a tiny bit regretfully it seemed to Carney.  

“I need to ask your lady some personal questions, Sir Carney.  To discover if there is more to Maeve’s reasons than just thwarting Moncrieffe’s alliance with the lords of the South.”

Alicia huffed, “Lords of the South?  I am the King’s niece!”

Both of Loki’s brows lifted at that and Carney sighed.  “My Lady, you should not be so quick to announce your affiliation with the Crown in these parts.”

She frowned and Loki spoke, quietly.  “Your guardian is correct, milady.  Most here have little love for the Windsors and their kin.  You relatives have ruined much of what was once the Summer Court’s lands.  Even your knight’s lord and his peers do not much care for your uncle and his laws.”

Looking back at the knight, he added firmly, “I, however, need to know everything.  If you wish to continue under my protection.  I do not think either of you would fare well if I released you at this time.”  

He rose from the table and offered Alicia his hand.  “Come, sweet lady.  This discussion will go easier in more pleasant surroundings.  Shall we adjourn to the gardens?”

Loki turned back to the knight who had also risen.  “If you will give us but a few moments, Sir Carney?  I swear to you as a prince of Asgard and of Jotunheim, I will return her to you unharmed.”  Loki placed one hand over his heart as he spoke.

The knight was shaking his head, scowling and Alicia lay a hand on his arm.  “I’m sure Loki’s intentions are honorable, Sir Carney.  He has only been kind to us so far.  I shall be quite safe with him for just a few moments.  If his questions are of a personal nature, I think we both would be more comfortable apart, don’t you?”  

Still scowling, his lips now a tight line, the knight sighed in defeat.  Loki smiled and said, ‘“Why don’t you sample a few of the dishes that look appealing?  I noted there were several that caught your eye that you have not tasted.  We shall not be long.”  With that, he tucked Alicia’s hand into the crook of his elbow and escorted her through an as yet untried door.  


	8. Chapter 8

                                                                                      ### 8

They arrived in the outer air shortly thereafter.  Leading her through a small, partially walled courtyard, Loki took the lady down a sloping path and over a white bridge.   They strolled through an area of semi-formal gardens with statuary, shaped and tended bushes, drifts of white and bright yellow flowers and then back into a wilder, deserted looking section of older stoneworks, walls and an abandoned seeming pond covered with green pondweed.  

[URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/914d0a4a-6056-437e-b29b-e796f12d47d3_zps7fbec6c1.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/914d0a4a-6056-437e-b29b-e796f12d47d3_zps7fbec6c1.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=  http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/56d1411e-6740-4ce0-a2ec-86b06bd0ec3c_zps9f075b63.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/56d1411e-6740-4ce0-a2ec-86b06bd0ec3c_zps9f075b63.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=  http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/3151b032-d88c-44ca-9012-580ece91edd1_zps109366cd.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/3151b032-d88c-44ca-9012-580ece91edd1_zps109366cd.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

He sat her on a carved stone bench after sweeping away the drift of dried leaves that had littered it.  Brushing his hands together, the god turned fey sat beside the young woman. “First, allow me to apologise for spiriting you away here without apprising you of the consequences.  I hope you understand I had only your safety in mind. I know the trip was tiring and uncomfortable for you.”

He glanced down at where he held one of her slender, delicate hands.  “It was necessary. Maeve would have stolen you away to most likely become a handmaid and your knight... they probably would have simply killed him.  Sir Carney does not impress me as the type to accede to joining the Hunt.”

Alicia gasped and paled.  “The Hunt?” she questioned in a whisper.

“Indeed, the Wild Hunt,”  Loki confirmed. “Surely you have heard stories?”

“Only what were told to me as fairy tales, bedtime stories as a child,” Alicia shook her head.  “They’re not real.”

“Oh, yes they are, my sweet!”  Loki chuckled. “Most tales and legends of your people’s past are.  Perhaps twisted and embellished upon over the centuries, but all have a nugget of truth at their core.  The Wild Hunt is very real and very dangerous. They are the soldiers of the Winter Court of the Fey; Maeve’s guards and executioners.”  

“But putting that aside for the moment,” Loki waved it away as if it were of no importance.  “I need to know if there is some more devious reason for the Queen of the Winter Court of the Fey to be hunting you.”

“I cannot imagine one,” Alicia demurred.  “I may be a niece of the king, but it is several times removed from the line for the throne.  My father’s people are landed, but his place is far to the south, near the sea.”

“Would you permit me a tiny bit of forwardness, milady?”  Loki asked her gently. “It would easily clear up my questions and curiosity.”  He glanced up at her and his green eyes glowed.

Alicia gasped and turned her face away.  Loki chuckled and murmured, “You learn quickly, milady.  But it was only excitement to find why you are pursued. I will not attempt to charm you.”  

Swallowing her nervousness, Alicia looked back at him and now Loki lowered his eyes.  She took a deep breath and licked dry lips. “What is it you need of me, milord?”

He smiled without looking up.  “Loki will do, milady. I need to touch your essence... to see if there is truly any wild blood in you.”  Now he did look up to see a puzzled little frown.

“A drop of blood, a bit of flesh...”  She squeaked and leapt up, prepared to flee.  “Wait! It does not have to be anything so dire.”  Alicia paused. “A kiss will suffice.” Loki smiled.

“So that is why you did not wish Sir Carney to be present,” she glared at him.

“Do you think he would allow it?”  Loki chuckled. “I do not.”

She couldn’t help but smile.  He looked so innocent and definitely was not.  “Very well, but only a quick one.” She sat back down and turned her cheek toward him.

“Oh, no, milady.  I need to taste you; to breathe your breath.  I’m not a chicken pecking for seed.”

“What?” she gasped, but Loki was already right there, and he slid an arm about her shoulders and drew her even closer.  His lips were soft and warm on hers, those strange green eyes only an inch from her own. Alicia had to look deeply into those bright beryl orbs and she lost herself in their sparkle.  

She lost track of time; forgot to breathe.  Loki tasted of apples and honey; she could not help but open herself to him fully.  Her eyes closed and she sighed into his mouth. Her hands came up and she threaded her fingers into his silky hair.  

Next she knew, he was holding her by both shoulders and gently shaking her.  “Milady! Alicia! Come back, sweetling.” As her eyes fluttered open and she sighed deeply, he smiled.  “Are you alright, milady?”

“I.. I don’t know,” she breathed.  “I feel a bit faint.”

He laughed; “You forgot to breathe, milady.  Have you never been kissed before?”

“Of course I have!” she was incensed.

“Not by a man,” the god chuckled, his eyes still sparkling mischievously.  “Not with desire behind it.”

Alicia blushed cherry red.  It was true, and then her head snapped up and she stared at him.  “You... you...” Her blush deepened even more and she put both hands to her flaming cheeks.  He wanted her? As a man? And they were not chaperoned! “Oh, my God!” She leapt up and turned to run, but realised she did not remember the way.  

Loki only laughed aloud, still sitting on the bench.  “Please, milady. Calm yourself. I said I would not harm you.  You have nothing to fear from me.”

Alicia looked back at him.  “Why?”

“You are a sweet little thing, to be sure.  Beautiful and desirable as mortals go.  But you _are_ mortal, and I am forbidden.”

She frowned and sat back down.  “Why?” she asked again, now curious.  

Loki sighed.  “Part of my punishment.  No mortals.  And I apparently do not appeal to any of the fey who appeal to me.  So I remain celibate until I may return home.”

“What did you do?  And why no mortals?”  

“I cuckolded one of my compatriots and he complained to my king.”  Loki shrugged, “it wasn’t the first time, but Odin was tired of hearing the other gods whine about it.  So he sent me here where my magic is not so unique.  And no mortals because it is so easy to sway you.”

“You consorted with other... other god’s wives?”  Alicia was aghast.

“Wives, consorts, concubines, slaves; what’s the difference?  If a man cannot keep his woman satisfied, who’s to blame her for looking elsewhere?  And I do love the ladies.” His eyes glowed again and he grinned.  “I was only trying to keep them content.”  

“Are you saying these... women sought you out?”  Alicia looked at him as if she could not see the attraction.  

Loki laughed again.. “I do not look like this in Asgard, my sweet.  I am much prettier.”  He stood.  “Would you like to see?”

“Um...  you will be clothed?”  Alicia remembered seeing paintings of gods in the king's palace and they were often barely draped.  

Laughing, he replied, “If you wish it, milady.  Or not, if you would prefer.”

“Um, clothed will be acceptable, Loki.”

The little man vanished in a golden-green haze.  What replaced him took her breath away.  He was right, he _was_  much prettier in his natural state.  Tall, taller than even Sir Carney, he was still rather slender.  

His hair was a shade of red so dark it was almost black and he wore it longer and smoothed back.  His face was longer, with a high intelligent brow and chiseled looking cheeks and jaw... like Alicia had imagined a god should look.  But the twinkle in his pale green eyes and the grin were the same.

His clothing was all black leather over a deep green linen; knee high black boots and a gold torc hung on his chest.  He wore a partially mailed gambeson that fell to mid thigh over black leather breeches and the high-collared green shirt, with a sleeveless, studded, ankle length surcoat over it all.  His body armour, pauldrons, rerebraces and vambraces were a burnished bronze and traced in patterns she had never seen before.

“My goodness!  You look a right proper knight, Loki.  Or should I call you Sir Loki? Or Lord Loki?”  Alicia stuttered.

“Actually, milady, it’s Prince Loki.  The Aesir are a warrior race and all our hale men dress similarly.  Like your northern neighbours who do worship us as gods.  But simply Loki will do.  I am not seen as a god here.”

The tall, very handsome person vanished to be replaced by the smaller, impish one she’d first met.  It took Alicia several minutes to process what Loki had just said. _Wait!  He’s a prince?  Or is he a god?  A prince of gods?  Oh, my!  And how does he change his form like that?  It is not natural!_

The young woman flushed again and waved her hand in front of her face.  “Are you well, lady Alicia?”  Loki cocked his head to one side.  “You have gone quite pale, my sweet.”

“I... give me a moment, Loki.  This is a lot more than I expected to ever encounter on this trip.  Even though I knew my life would change completely.  But, this?  Fairies, another world?  A... a god?”  She flung a hand toward him.

Loki smiled softly.  This was not the time to tell the sweet thing what he had discovered.  Her life and that of her mortal guardian were going to change more than they could ever have imagined.  And hopefully, his could go back to being normal.  And soon.


	9. Chapter 9

                                                                                       ### 9

Suspicion confirmed and his decision made, Loki walked the lady back to his refuge.  He would try and convince her knight their safety was dependent upon remaining with him a few more days.  At least until the moon was well past its full phase.  He’d found most humans believed the Wild Hunt only rode during that time and he would not be the one to disabuse them of that foolish notion, though that was when they were at their most powerful.

Carney saw them coming up through the gardens and strode out to meet them.  Lady Alicia seemed shaken and as soon as she caught sight of him, she looked away and blushed.  The knight’s eyes narrowed, he exhaled forcefully and glared at the fey.  Loki looked right back, as innocent as a spring lamb.

“My Lady?  Are you well?”  Carney solicitously asked.  He was still staring fiercely at Loki.  “What transpired?  What has he done?” 

“Nothing I did not allow, Sir Carney.  I wished to know more of Loki’s circumstances here and he explained it to me.  I saw what his true form is, as well.  I admit it shocked me for a time, but I am quite alright now.”  She looked up at her guardian and smiled faintly, “he has not harmed me, really.” 

Alicia sighed and flicked a quick sideways glance at their host.  “I believe him now, Sir Carney.  He is a god; a very handsome god.”  She dropped her eyes and blushed again. 

Loki only chuckled and murmured, “Now you understand why no mortals, my dear?”

Carney growled and stepped forward to take Alicia from the fey.  She was trembling like a leaf.  His head snapped back to the fey.  “What have you done to her?” he snarled.

“Nothing to which she did not agree ,” Loki responded, with a smile.

Carney pushed Alicia behind him and his hands clenched into fists in his anger.  He knew he should never have allowed them to be separated.  Alicia put her hand on his arm before he did something foolish.

“Sir Carney!  Stand down, sir knight.  Please, I am fine.  Loki only kissed me and he did have my permission.”

“Listen to your ward, Sir Carney.  You do not truly wish to challenge me over something so inconsequential.  It would not be wise.  Or conducive to continued good health.”  Loki suddenly looked quite dangerous, his eyes flashing a darker green and a faint aura beginning to glow around him.

Alicia recognised it as the same magical halo that had covered him just before he changed shape with her.  She gasped and pulled back on the knight’s arm.  It unbalanced him slightly; just enough that he was forced to take a step back.  

As he did, the god returned to his normal Aspect, growing a foot in height and wearing the same armoured outfit as Alicia had seen.  Loki scowled and the bright morning darkened to a greenish twilight.   Silence descended in the garden, the light breeze faltering and the background whisper of moving leaves and twittering birds ceased.  Sir Carney took another step back, pushing Alicia with him. 

[URL= http://s874.photobucket.com/user/ban_sidhe/media/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/88a2bc0b-1282-4632-96eb-317ac5f0c02f_zpsecaf294d.jpg.html][IMG]http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab309/ban_sidhe/Loki/Lost%20in%20Otherwhere/88a2bc0b-1282-4632-96eb-317ac5f0c02f_zpsecaf294d.jpg[/IMG][/URL ]  

He had playfully called the little man ‘Loki,’ not realising that he truly was a god in every sense that mortals meant.  Now he understood his error.  The being standing before him was terrifying.  If he remembered the stories his Norse nanny had told him as a small boy, this god was known for his casual cruelty and vicious temper, too.  

The knight broke out in a cold sweat.  He didn’t even have the slight protection of his armour or weapons and Loki looked furious.  Glowing eyes opened wide, his nostrils flared and lips compressed into a narrow pale line.  Carney watched his hands flex into claws and a verdant glow surrounded them. 

“Please, my...  Lord.  Sir Carney is only doing his duty.  He has been tasked with my protection.  He means no disrespect.”   Alicia had lunged forward around the knight and fallen to her knees right at Loki’s feet.  

The knight gasped and made an aborted attempt to reach for her.  Alicia’s head came up to stare at the god looking down on her.  Loki’s hands closed into fists and he took a deep breath.  The green glow vanished as he relaxed. 

The god’s head lifted and he stared into the knight’s eyes.  His were cold and angry still.  “Because she asks, you still breathe,” he murmured softly.  Then he calmly stepped around them both and disappeared back into the castle. Both humans sighed in relief.

Sir Carney shuddered in reaction, the adrenaline surging in his veins with nowhere to go.  He shook his head and sighed at Alicia.  “I almost think we might have been safer with the real fey.  Queen Maeve holds a court like we do and...”

Loki’s voice floated out to where the pair of humans stood in his courtyard.  “Oh, that would be very unwise, Sir Carney. The dark queen would find you extremely appealing.  She does love to play with a strong, handsome man.  But you would not survive her attention, I fear.  She is a cruel and pitiless monarch and she hates your liege lord.  It would give her great pleasure to torture you to death.

“As for your lady, I despair to think what might become of her.  She is a pretty little thing, appealing to more than I.  The Queen’s courtiers would no doubt use her quite brutally.  And when she had aged beyond her beauty, she would simply be tossed aside to survive in any way she could.  If she even lived that long.  The Winter Court is no place for humans.”

 


	10. Chapter 10

                                                                                     ###  10

The Wild Hunt returned to their Queen again after another long night of searching.  They had ridden the fields and forests of Maeve’s lands, passing down the well trod paths and lesser known byways like a cold mist blown by the wind.  Sometimes silent, sometimes with horns blowing and hounds baying, the jingling of their steeds’ harness and the snorting of their steamy breath echoing through wood and meadow.  All of Faerie’s creatures hidden and shivering at the passage of the Queen’s army, the less powerful fey sighed in relief as the army passed them up.

Partially successful, the riders had come upon another group of searchers.  Men of the North, sent out by their thain to find his missing betrothed.  The knights had tried to make a stand in the wildwood when brought to bay, their mounts driven insane by the sounds of the Hunt’s hounds baying and the wild skirling of the horns.  

One by one, they had fallen to the riders of the fey stalking them.  Some had fallen prey to fear and been gathered up and changed.  Others had attempted to flee and the hounds had taken them.  The last man standing refused to give in and the fey had simply ridden him down and run him through with their hunting spears.  

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Now, the black elf knight stood before Maeve and informed her of the night’s work.

“We gained a dozen new riders this night.  All Northmen, so their training will go swiftly, my Queen.  All from the thain’s keep, as well.  He sent them searching for his ladylove.  Like the first group of several days ago, that were returning from the southern lands.”  Though his smile was invisible behind his mask, it showed in his speech.

“I have learned something unexpected, as well.  One of the humans let slip that the reason they fled through the lower meadows was because the girl saw your palace in the river’s reflection.  Her guardian bade them run as fast through your lands as they could.  If we had not already been out that night, they might have escaped us completely.”

The queen only frowned at her champion’s words.  So the girl had the Sight; it mattered little until she was in Maeve’s hands.  She snarled at the black elf, “Is this the only progress you have made?  It is not sufficient!”  She flung a hand in his direction and he grasped his throat, choking. 

Fallen to his knees, the black elf shook his head and lifted a hand toward the enraged fey queen.  She fairly crackled with anger and her chin came up as she watched him struggle for air.  Finally, just before he would have lost consciousness, she relented.  

The rest of the Court had frozen in place, terrified of the Queen’s displeasure.  They couldn’t even risk fleeing, as that might draw her attention to one of them.  So they stood or sat where they were, curled in on themselves and hardly daring to breathe.

The dark elf fell forward, supporting himself on his hands.  Head hanging, he coughed and gasped out a few more words.  “Found a woodsprite.  Saw Puck.  With two humans. Didn’t know where they went.”

“Ahh, now that is better.”  Maeve slunk close to where her champion knelt and lifted him to his feet, her hand under his chin.  “Sweet love, why did you not say this in the first place?  You might have saved yourself some pain.”  She smiled, wound her arms around his neck and kissed him, pressing her body close.  She knew that he knew she needed to hurt him.  

The elf moaned; he wanted her, desperately, and he feared her, just as much.  She was the most beautiful of all the fey and the most dangerous.  Insane, jealous, cruel and fickle.  She owned him and they both knew that, too.  He hardened as she ground her hips against him and he whimpered in need again.  

Maeve laughed and pulled away.  “Bring me the girl and you shall have what you desire my sweet.  But not until then.” 

Her hand slipped down the front of his body and she cupped him.  The elf shivered and Maeve closed her fingers on his manhood, making him curl forward with a grunt.  She walked backward several steps, forcing him to limp with her before she grinned and released him. “Go.  Find her.” He went.


	11. Chapter 11

                                                                                      ### 11

As soon as the god stepped inside the castle, the day brightened, birds twittered and sang, the soft, sweetly scented, summer breeze returned.  Both humans looked at each other and laughed in relief of fear.  Sir Carney took Alicia’s hand and led her to a garden bench that he hoped was out of sight and sound from the god’s keep.  

“We need to talk, milady.  Decide what we must do to keep you safe and ourselves alive.  We cannot stay here any longer, I fear.  I am remembering the old tales a little.  There is a warning about staying too long and becoming trapped here.  I only hope we have not already passed that boundary.”

Alicia nodded, unhappy but in agreement.  The odd little man she had been amused by and felt beholden to had turned out to be someone completely different.  Someone just as eldritch, dangerous and unpredictable as any fairy she remembered from her childhood stories.

Loki had immediately repaired to his work chamber.  He had much to do and not much time.  The morning had passed in his walk and chat with Alicia and the confrontation with her guardian afterward.  He had his help set up a light repast and liquid refreshment for them while he was busy with preparations.

He now knew the girl was completely human, just one of the lucky (or cursed) ones to be born with a sensitivity to things most could not see.  She did not belong in Maeve’s court.  And her brave knight would never survive, which would destroy the child.  He would save them if he could, or at least the girl.  

Looking up at the ceiling, he spoke aloud, though he was alone.  “Heimdall, I hope you’re watching.  I’m going to send her back home.  She wouldn’t be safe with the northern lord.  Her guardian, too, if I can.  He’s a brave, loyal warrior and his human code of chivalry is similar to our warrior’s honour.  She needs him.  Make sure Odin knows.”

Shaking his head in disbelief of his own actions, Loki got to work.  The spells he needed to have in place before nightfall took time and energy to prepare.  They had to perfect; he couldn’t afford the tiniest error.

He was still working, now in shirtsleeves, barefoot and slightly disheveled several hours later.  One of his hobs had brought him mead a number of times, but he had taken nothing solid.  He was beginning to feel the lack; his stomach rumbled and he was sweated, weakening from the expenditure of energy and the fierce concentration it took to complete his conjuring.  

Finally finished, he took a moment to examine the spells.  Satisfied, he grinned tiredly and collapsed where he stood.  Sitting crosslegged on the floor, his head drooping onto his chest, hands limp in his lap, the god simply sat and breathed for a few minutes.  

He hadn’t taken on anything this massive or this complicated by himself in some time.  Usually having other mages or alfar to assist, Loki’d forgotten how exhausting a solo major spell casting could be.  Not only move two humans quite a distance undetected and without harm, he needed to cover his own tracks, too.  If Maeve discovered his deception before he was ready, he could be in serious danger.  Thus he was less than pleased when one of the garden brownies peeked in and whispered softly to him.

“Master?  Forgive the interruption, please.  Your guests are attempting to leave on their own.  Heading back down the stair to Maeve’s lands from what I overheard.”  The little wizened man in dead leaf coloured scraps knelt, his head on the floor and his hands over the top of it.  

Too tired to be angered by the disturbance, Loki sighed and climbed to his feet.  “How far have they gotten?” he asked, petulantly.

“Not far, Master.”  The brownie lifted one hand and peeked through his fingers.  Surprised he hadn’t been blasted across the room, he added, “the iron one took food and drink for several days.  Wrapped it in a coverlet from his bed.  And he stole a cheese from the larder, too, according to Cinnamara.”

Loki sighed again.  “I may be gone for some time, Thistledorn.  You’re in charge until I return.  Keep things under control, eh?”  

“You should eat something, Master?  The working has tired you and you’ve had nothing since rising.”  The little brownie’s concerned frown actually made Loki smile.

“No time now.  But tell Cinnamara I will be hungry when I return.  Have something substantial ready.”

While the stunned brownie was still nodding, the weary god passed his open hands over and in front of each other in a circular motion.  And disappeared.

                                                                                    ~~~~~~

Alicia and Carney had just about reached the bend in the steps beyond which Loki’s hold was not visible.  She was walking only a step or two behind the knight, one hand skimming the cliff and the other holding her skirts up.  Both of them hurrying to get out of sight as quickly as they might.

As they made the turn, the young woman glanced back over her shoulder.  She plowed straight into the big man because he had stopped short with no warning.  He oofed, she squeaked and they both stumbled a step or two until the knight caught her and his balance.

Sir Carney had come round the curve in the cliff to an empty stair and blinked with the shift in the breeze.  When his eyes opened, that was no longer the case.  Loki, as Puck, sat waiting for them.

Alicia peered around the knight’s wide shoulder to see why he’d stopped and gasped.  The god in fey disguise stood and tsked at them. Hands on his narrow hips, head tilted to the right, Loki _purred_ , “Did you really think it would be so easy to escape me?”

Sir Carney stiffened and even though he knew it would be useless, he drew his broadsword.  “We cannot stay here.  It is not safe for milady.  Let us pass.  Please, if you care anything for her at all.”

“I do.  I said so, did I not?”  Loki shook his head.  “But you will fail to save her if you persist in this foolishness.  It will only end in your death and her enslavement.  You know not how to circumvent the Hunt.  I do.”

Alicia saw the god’s eyes glowing and she thought to stop her guardian from getting himself killed.  Laying a hand on his sword arm, she opened her mouth to speak.  Loki’s head moved slightly to face her and he shook it once, but his eyes never left the knight’s.  

His left hand came up and he fanned his fingers in a swirling movement.  Alicia found she could not make a sound.  She grasped her throat and her eyes went round.  Loki had magicked her silent.

He continued to speak to Carney, his voice soft and soothing.  Alicia saw the knight relaxing and realised the god was enthralling the man.  Removing any objection to whatever Loki would tell him to do.  She gasped quietly and bit her lip, frightened and worried for her guardian.  

Of a sudden, Loki’s words penetrated her brain.  He was now talking to her.  “I have not harmed him, my sweet.  Simply made him compliant.  His intentions were honourable, but he would have gotten you both killed.  I can save you.  I have made arrangements to send you home, milady. Is that not a better plan?”

“Home?”  Alicia’s question was a tremulous whisper.  She realised suddenly she could now speak aloud.

“Yes, back to your father’s lands, where you will **not** be vulnerable.  You would never be out of danger in the northern laird’s possession.”  Loki smiled at the young woman. “You may even keep your knight, if you wish.  In fact, I think it would be better for him if you did.”

Loki grinned at Alicia and winked.  “He has grown quite fond of you, Lady Alicia.  I think you feel the same.  Sir Carney would not make such a bad match for you, would he?”    

“You mean...”  Alicia stepped around the bemused knight and looked up into his square face, his blue eyes.  He smiled at her, a pleasant, if unusual and slightly dazed expression.  She understood now.  Carney did care for her, for herself, not simply as a charge he’d been given by his liege lord.  She looked back at Loki.  “He loves me?”  She frowned, “This is not your doing?”

Loki laughed aloud, shaking his head no.  “I never thought I would be playing matchmaker in my exile here.  Though Puck is known for it.  Yes, my Lady, he does.  Do you not feel the same?”

“I... I... never thought it could come to anything,”  Alicia blushed and lowered her eyes from the knight’s.  Ducking her head, she breathed, “I think I may, my Lord Loki.  I am very fond of him.”

“Good.  It is settled then.  I will return you to the human realm.  The best I can do is only part way back, but you should be safe as long as you stay on the main roads.  Once you leave Faerie, the compulsion I placed on Sir Carney will fade.”

He grinned again, the impish Puck one and his eyes flashed in glee.  “I should do my best to woo him on the way, milady.  He will not easily understand that what he feels is acceptable to you.  You must be the one to open his eyes.”  Chuckling at her shocked, disbelieving face, he added, “You are a beautiful woman, child.  Very desirable.  It shouldn’t be difficult.

“Now, if you would step close, please.”  Loki lifted his hands and they were once more enveloped in that verdant nimbus.  “Sir Carney.  Embrace the lady, if you would be so kind.  Then I suggest you both close your eyes.”

Facing her knight, Alicia looked up to see him still smiling down at her.  She returned it and his face brightened.  He carefully wrapped strong arms around her.  They were both surrounded by a bright flash of light and by the time each had gasped once, they found themselves standing on the main highway north from the king's lands.  

Alicia felt an unfamiliar weight at her waist and pulled back her cloak to find a small purse attached to her belt.  It contained coins and several large gems, more than enough to buy them horses and see them back to her father’s keep.  “Oh, my!” she exclaimed.

Then looking back at her knight, she smiled again.  “Thank you, Loki.  I will not forget your kindness.”  Sir Carney seemed confused for a moment, then he shrugged it off.  

“Come, milady.  We should inquire at yon inn for lodging.  It grows late and I would not weary you more.”  Giving her his arm, he turned them to face south... and home.


	12. Chapter 12

                                                                                       ### 12

“What news?” the man seated in the thain’s high seat asked, anxiously.  This was the third group of men he’d sent out looking for the overdue party escorting his intended from the great city in the south to his home.  The first had never returned and the second had not only come back empty-handed, they’d found no trace of either.

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The leader sighed, unhappy and not really willing to impart what information he had.  “We had no better luck than the others, m’Laird.” Before the thain said anything, he held up a hand.  “We did encounter a woodcutter during our return.  The man was leading a wild stallion behind his cart.  He claimed to have found the beast wandering the edges of the old forest.” 

“And this concerns me why?” the thain scowled.  

“When I examined the animal it acted as if it was in fear of its life, m’Laird.  Sweating, startling, snorting nervously and his eyes rolling.  Jet in colour, he was obviously bred to be a knight’s destrier.  But he’d forgotten everything he was ever taught.  And he had been trained, as there were marks upon his hide from harness.  One of my knights thought he resembled Sir Carney’s mount.  

“The animal’s mane and tail were completely tangled in elf-locks, as well, m’Laird.  I ran a hand over him and my glove clunked against metal.  I had to cut the ring out of his mane, but it should answer your question at last.”  Handing the signet to a page, the leader bowed his head.  “I am truly sorry, m’Laird.  We shall not see your intended here.” 

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The thain took the small ring from the page and scowled.  It had been sized to fit his betrothed’s hand.  Clenching it in his fist, his lips tightened and he huffed an angry sigh.   He had been warned. 

He realised now he could not ignore the tithe she insisted upon.  And really, it was not so much.  A white calf born to any of his people, a twentieth part of his gold, continue to follow the old ways and his people would gain safe passage on all roads south through her lands.  But one way or another, the faerie queen would exact her due.


	13. Chapter 13

                                                                                      ### 13

Deep in the old wood, a singular confrontation took place.  A single, rather small, slender, flame-haired fey stood before the master of the Wild Hunt.  The Queen’s champion recognised the creature as Maeve’s jester and missing informant, Puck.  What he could not understand was how and why the fey had denied the Hunt passage.  No one was strong enough to manage that, not even Maeve herself.

His troop behind him and the hounds at his feet, the black elf dismounted and drew his sword.  He was not pleased when Puck only laughed and pulled several very sharp and gleaming throwing knives from somewhere.  They glowed faintly with a light green witchfire.  The little imp had the gall to defy him?

The elf scowled, an expression that normally struck fear into whomever he faced, but it didn’t seem to affect Puck at all.  In fact, he appeared even more amused than ever. Deliberately missing, he flicked a hand and one knife whistled past the Huntmaster to embed itself in the closest tree.  It stuck there, humming with the vibration of it’s expended energy.

The entire Hunt shifted, all weapons coming to bear on the fey they knew as Puck.  They leaned forward hungrily, several even moaning in anticipation.  It wasn’t often they got to hunt their own.  Their leader lifted a restraining hand and they settled back disgruntledly. 

The black elf’s brows rose as he turned to glance at the blade; Puck told him very softly to examine it carefully and take close heed of what he noticed.  The little one stood quite patiently waiting while he did.

When the Queen’s champion stared back at him, surprised and asked how it was possible, Loki dropped his ‘Puck’ disguise to the elf’s even greater shock.  The entire Hunt took one collective breath.  Well-trained, that was all they did, waiting for their master’s command.

“I am no simple fey for you to abuse at your Queen’s command, dog.  I am Loki of Asgard and I do not fear iron.  But you do.  If you wish to continue breathing, you had best slink back to your mistress and inform her she has lost this battle.

“There will be others, I am certain.  She should look to her future, though.  Her time here is almost past.  The humans grow more numerous each day.  Soon, they will be too strong for her magic to hold back.  She, and all of you, will wither away to mere shadows if you remain.  She would be wiser spending her energies preparing for that day.”

The god sighed, “Ragnarok approaches.  And it will be the end of us all.”  Thunder rolled, a brilliant flash of rainbow light stabbed down from the night sky and the false fey vanished.  Banishment forgiven, time served, Loki gladly went home.

 

                                                                                    ~FINI~

 


End file.
